


Unmasked

by Elemir (orphan_account)



Category: DCU - Comicverse, Teen Titans (Comics), Young Justice (Cartoon)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-03
Updated: 2013-01-03
Packaged: 2017-11-23 13:40:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,218
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/622794
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/Elemir
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The real story behind how Wally and Roy figured out Robin's secret identity. Not that it was easy.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Unmasked

Roy looked at Wally; the younger boy had sat down in a patch of grass and was pulling it out in handfuls. He then proceeded to sprinkle it over his outstretched legs, a task which Roy had abandoned in first grade but apparently Wally found okay to do even at the ripe age of thirteen.

"I'm so bored, Speedy." Wally finally moaned, shaking the grass off his legs and looking up at the archer as if the world had ended right in front of his eyes.

"Then find something to do." Speedy suggested. The speedster groaned and went back to pulling grass. Roy smirked and pulled out his bow, selecting his least lethal arrow from his quiver, which was hard. He silently notched his arrow and took careful aim, waiting for the right moment and let it fly.

Wally yelped as the arrow stuck itself in the grass where his fingers were only a split second ago.

"You could have hit me!" he cried indignantly, whirling around and standing up to look Speedy in the eyes, already glaring. He was greeted by a stunning close up view of Speedy's neck. Wally sighed. He'd forgotten to factor in the height difference.

"Relax, Wally." Roy soothed, laughing a little. "I was never going to hit you." he added, perfectly truthful. And it was true, because he had timed it carefully enough so that even if it did hit the speedster, it would hit some insignificant part of him, like his hand.

"Okay, so I might have maybe kind of hit you, possibly." Roy finally concluded, speaking slowly.

Wally, in all his redheaded feistiness, jumped up and yelled, reaching for Roy who was (unsurprisingly) too slow to get away. Wally manages to grab the other redhead by the front of his tunic and shook him, face in a playful snarl.

Batman, Green Arrow and the Flash walked in, all of them both shocked yet unsurprised to see the scene in front of them.

"Wally?" Barry questioned, and his young apprentice broke away, looking at the threesome of mentors sheepishly, a hint of a blush creeping up his face and over his freckles. Roy backed up as well, but smirked as he looked at the heroes.

"Where's Robin?" Wally asked, noticing that the Boy Wonder hadn't arrived with the Dark Knight.

"He's ill." Batman said, expression stony as he looked at the kids. "He's at his home in bed with the flu." he added, seeing Roy's disbelieving look toward him.

"We actually came here to tell you that we're leaving." Oliver Queen said, deciding not to beat around the bush and just go for it. He got the reaction he had expected: a loud and angry "What!" from Wally and a cold look from Roy.

"You told us we could go on a mission today!" Wally said, curling his hands into fists. He knew he was being whiny, but he didn't care. He wanted this so badly.

"I know, but something came up." Barry said, stepping up to calm his excited protégé.

"But you guys promised!" Roy said, saying the last word as if it were some horrible accusation in a courthouse. He tried to put as much bitterness as possible in his voice; he sounded as if he had just drank an entire bottle of cough syrup.

"I know, but we have something important to do." Green Arrow replied, his eyebrows lifting. "We'll make it up to you, swear."

"Where are you going, then, for this super important thing?" Wally said, his tongue dripping with scathing anger.

Wordlessly Batman held out a small piece of paper in his hand. Roy took it and flipped it over. It was a photo, of a small boy with dark hair, strapped to a chair with his head hanging down, obscuring his face. It was clear by his slackened body and stillness, however, that he was unconscious. A menacing man behind him held a revolver to his head.

"The picture was clearly taken in a warehouse, probably abandoned, just like the ones in East Gotham. It arrived with a ransom note asking for ten million dollars." Batman said. "We have to find him."

"Whoa, what kid is worth ten million dollars?" Wally asked incredulously, eyes going round and his voice squeaking up a few notes. He grimaced and mentally cursed puberty. The mentors all looked at each other before Flash finally answered Wally.

"Richard Grayson, ward of Bruce Wayne."

"I can't believe it!"

Roy sighed.

Wally had been repeating the same sentence for nearly half and hour; it was getting boring.

"We have to sit here while they're off playing babysitter!" he added, and Roy let his head drop into his hands. "I mean, sure he's amazingly rich, but they can't just go and rescue just anybody! I mean, I'm sure Grayson gets held for ransom like, every other day!"

"This is special, Wally." Roy said, admittedly the same response he'd been uttering for a while now. "There was something they didn't tell us." he finished, a hand going and stroking his chin thoughtfully.

"They're acting like this is some top secret mission." Wally said, running his hand over the smooth edges of the picture. He didn't mean to sound insensitive, and yeah, that kid looked like he was really in deep, but he was just so mad.

"I know!" Roy agreed vehemently, only half-surprised that he and Wally were getting along so well. It wasn't like they didn't like each other, but they were...prone to arguing, to say the least.

"Hey...Roy?" Wally asked hesitantly. "Did Batman say they were going to East Gotham?"

"Yeah, why?"

"There's a street number here."

"What?" Roy was at Wally's side with nearly inhuman speed.

"Look, in the corner of the picture there's a window, and through the window you can see that street sign, but it's pretty far away." Wally explained. He had been staring at the picture for a while, and his eyes had passed over the little green blob dozens of times, but he just understood what it was.

"Well, what does it say?" Roy snapped, his impatience growing. "I don't know!" Wally said, throwing his hands up in a gesture of surrender.

"Like I said, it's too far away to read." Wally shrugged.

"Don't your goggles have some sort of telescope?" Roy said, and Wally facepalmed. Of course. The microscope feature. He quickly pressed a spot on the side of his goggles and leaned over the picture, waiting for the lenses to focus.

"Um, 14, West...Willer." Wally slowly read out, and Roy gasped.

"That's on the other side of town." he said. "They'll never make it."

An idea suddenly stole over him and he grinned slyly, raising one eyebrow toward the speedster.

"What?" Wally said, confused by Roy's sudden mood change. Maybe he's bipolar, he though randomly.

"It's just a kidnapping," Roy said, smiling wider now. "I think we could handle that."

"You're going to go after Richard Grayson?" Wally asked in awe, finally catching on. After a small nod from Roy, the ginger-haired boy grinned and stood up. "Are you sure?"

Teasingly sighing, Roy stood up and slapped a hand on Wally's shoulder. "Come on. How hard can it be?"

"Okay, this is hard." Roy admitted, gripping another ledge and pulling himself up onto yet another roof. He was a good climber, yes, but normally Green Arrow was there to help him and he had just crossed half a city via rooftop. It was even harder for Wally. The speedster was used to running, and while that worked great for him, climbing was something entirely different. He was okay, better than most boys his age, but he grew tired quickly and they still had a few blocks to go.

"Why can't we go there on the ground?" Wally said, reaching for another handhold. He slipped and dangled by one hand, and after a few seconds on undignified scrabbling, he managed to grip a stone gargoyle and finally pull himself up next to Roy.

"Because, this is how you're supposed to do it in Gotham." Roy explained, creeping up the slanting rooftop shingles and looking around to make sure they weren't being followed.

"It would be a lot easier if Robin was here."

"He's got the flu, remember?"

"I'm just sayin'. This would be a lot more fun."

"I'm not fun?"

"Yeah, I mean, wait, you totally are! But still...if Robin was here..."

"I get it. You like him better."

"Speedy. I never said that! I just mean Rob's used to jumping around on rooftops. I'm sure he has some cool tricks or-"

"Shh!" Roy hissed, shoving his hand over the speedster's mouth. Kid Flash's muffled voice stopped and the pair looked at the large warehouse on the corner.

"Why are we so far away?" Kid Flash asked in an aggravated whisper, prying the older boy's hand off of his face.

"Because there might be surveillance." Speedy breathed. "We need to get closer, but quietly."

"I never make any noise!" Wally said brightly, eyeing the precipice of where the building dropped away. There was probably a shorter building behind it, it was just hidden, he figured, and then strapped his goggles on over his eyes. "Come on, I can get there faster." Wally urged, and took off towards the edge of the building, deciding to run straight over the edge and land on the smaller, unseen building.

"Kid!" Roy called, but Wally didn't hear him. Or rather, Wally ignored him, a smile coming to his face. The speedster ran over the edge, his grin promptly disappearing as he realized there wasn't a building there to land on. Only a dirty alleyway five stories down. Wally fell. Out of nowhere, an arrow came flying from above him, a thin rope attached to the end. Kid Flash reached out and snagged the rope, still falling for a few moments before it went taut. He was still two stories above the ground, dangling against the side of the building. He kicked and flailed, holding on to the arrow to save his life.

"Ki... ash..." Roy's voice floated down from above, getting lost in the howling wind. "Ru..."

"What?" Wally yelled, still dangling.

"Ruh..."

"What?" Wally screamed back, his fingers, damp with nervous sweat, starting to slip.

"RUN!"

A lull in the wind let Speedy's voice come through perfectly. Kid Flash managed to slowly turn aroun until he could finally place his feet flat on the wall, his hands still gripping the rope. Saying a prayer, he dashed up the wall. It worked. He got all the way up and saw Roy clutching the other end of the rope. He fell onto the terraced roof and panted, the exhaustion and adrenaline finally catching up to him.

"You idiot!" Roy hissed, leaning down to look at Wally. "I told you there could be surveillance."

"Sorry. I'm still kind of new at this." Wally replied, straightening up and squaring his shoulders.

"The street is empty." Roy said quietly, peering over the edge of the building. "We should go down." Grabbing the rope that Wally had been using, he tied one end around a small chimney and then let the other end fall over the edge of the building. Slowly throwing one leg over the building, he carefully rappelled to the ground. After one last glance at the ground, Wally gripped the rope and lowered himself to the ground as well.

"According to the picture, Richard Grayson is being held in that big warehouse across the street." Roy recapped, his eyes flicking back and forth as he looked for any possible guards. Strangely, there were none.

"Okay, now what?" Wally whispered, suitably chastised after his near-disaster with the alley.

"See that fire escape?" Roy whispered, nodding slightly toward the side of the building. "There should be a window at the top." A few minutes later, the two were standing next to the large, grimy window, their backs pressed against the brick siding. Slowly, ever-so-painstakingly slowly, Roy leaned over the edge of the dusty sill, and slowly peeked in to the large room. It wasn't pretty. Richard Grayson was sitting in a chair, his ankles strapped to its legs. His hands were tied behind him, his elbows touching awkwardly and his head pulled back. A blindfold was pushed over his eyes and every few seconds he'd heave and wince, a racking cough erupting from his throat. Next to him, two men clutching pistols were facing him, their shoulders slouching in boredom.

"Ouch." Wally said, creeping up next to his friend. "What do we do now?"

"Only two guys." Roy assessed, carefully pulling his bow off his shoulders. "You go down and get the one on the left, and then I'll take-"

"One on the left, got it." Wally said, strapping his goggles on again. Without another look at the archer, he jumped up and crashed through the window, expecting to drop ten feet and land on his feet. He forgot he was three stories up. He landed hard on a pile of crates, the packing foam spilling out and cushioning his fall ever so slightly.

"Uunnghh." he groaned, pushing himself up with shaky arms. "Not my smartest idea." he said, and then realized that the two armed men were staring at him, their mouths slackened in astonishment. One of them suddenly came to his senses and clicked the safety off of his gun, but Kid Flash wasn't there any more. The shots embedded themselves harmlessly in the rotting wooden floor. A moment later, a bright red arrow sped through the air and knocked the gun out of the thug's hand.

Roy swore as he leapt to the ground, landing with bent knees to absorb the impact. "KF, I'm gonna kill you!" he yelled, storming up to the other guy and snap kicking him in the stomach.

Kid Flash grinned and rushed over to the bound Dick Grayson, pulling the blindfold off, and then undoing the ropes biding his hands and feet in a matter of seconds. Grayson blinked rapidly a couple of times before his gaze focused on the canary-colored speedster.

"Kid Flash?" he said incredulously, his eyes widening.

"Oh, so you've heard of me." Wally said proudly, stepping backwards and dusting his knuckles off on his shirt. Dick resisted the urge to roll his eyes and stood up, but then promptly toppled over onto his side.

"You okay, kid?" Kid Flash asked, helping him up. Dick bit back a sharp retort and focused on the problems at hand. Roy was still fighting off the two men, who had called in reinforcements. They didn't have much time.

"Broken ankle." Dick said shortly, looking around for the nearest exit. "Let's just go."

Wally, nodding, hoisted Dick up and slipped his arm around him, helping him take two hobbling steps.

A gunshot went off and the ground in front of them exploded.

Wally threw Richard Grayson to the side, rolling away just as another bullet embedded itself where his chest had been a moment earlier. Roy turned, his mouth open in a yell, but a strong backhand to the back of his head made him collapse to his knees, a gun pressed against his temple. Wally watched as his teammate fell and slowly held his hands up, sighing in resignation.

"Idiot." Dick muttered to himself, still unnoticed off to the side. The remaining four men in the room were focused on the two super-sidekicks, and Dick recognized his chance. Reaching into his pocket, he quickly scattered some small, gray pellets, smoke shrouding the room like a heavy fog. Reaching into his sleeve, Dick whipped out two small blades and embedded them in the wall behind him. In case the goons returned, they'd find the blades and just assume that Batman had set off the smoke bomb and rescued the kids. I never get any credit, Dick grumbled mentally.

He coughed again and then scrambled to his feet. Rushing forward as best as he could, he grabbed Kid Flash by the collar and griped around in the smoke for Roy, wishing he had his mask with its built-in filters. Finally managing to find the redheaded archer, he shoved him forward, gasping, "Move!" An explosion ripped the building apart and sent the three boys hurtling through the window in front of them, glass tinkling to the floor in front of them.

"Unngh. You two-ack-are so stu-" Richard Grayson's angry sentence was cut off by a fit of coughing.

"That's pretty ungrateful of you. We did just save your lives." Wally chided, standing up and dusting himself off.

"You two? As if," Dick snorted, waving his hand. "I did all the work. You guys just gave me the excuse." he added, deciding to give them some credit.

"What do you mean, you did all the work?" Roy said suspiciously, looking closely at Richard Grayson.

"Well, yeah, I mean, if you don't count Wally-" he broke off suddenly, realizing his mistake a second after he uttered it.

"How do you know my name?" Wally said suspiciously, eyeing the smaller boy.

"I, uh..." Dick trailed off, unable to come up with a good excuse.

"Robin?" Speedy said incredulously, and Dick gave up. He grinned at the pair, taking a domino mask from his pocket and slipping it over his baby blue eyes.

"I'm surprised you didn't find out sooner." Robin said finally, smiling sheepishly.

"Wait-you're the Dick Grayson?" Wally said slowly, and a large smile slowly spread over his face. "I knew you had to be rich! I knew something was wrong today!"

Dick sent a confused look at Roy, who stepped in to clarify.

"Batman told us you had the flu."

"He wasn't lying." Dick said, coughing slightly. Wally frowned and scooted away.

"Oh." Roy said.

"Um..." Dick tried to carry on the conversation, but stopped, a bit at a loss for words. Out of nowhere, a large black shadow fell over them and all three boys looked up, squinting at the familiar silhouette. Batman landed next to Robin, and just a heartbeat later, Flash had appeared, screeching to a stop. Green Arrow dropped down. "We realized we had the wrong address. Are you okay?" Batman said. He took careful note of his civilian clothes and the clumsily placed mask. Sighing heavily, Batman turned to look at the other two kids.

"I'm assuming you know?" he said somberly, sounding as if a close friend was lying on their deathbed rather than finding out their identities were revealed.

"We know everything." Roy said, punctuating his sentence with a glare towards Green Arrow. The senior archer grinned.

"And you won't tell anybody, I'm sure?" Batman drew himself up to his full, imposing height and looked sternly upon the two other boys. Out of the corner of his eye, he could make out Robin stifling giggles.

The small speedster and archer nodded furiously, and Batman stepped back, satisfied.

Wally perked back up almost immediately. "Hey, now that we know who you are, can we finally come over to your house?"

Bruce paled, thinking of all the catastrophic situations that could occur if all three boys were at the Manor. He started coming up with apologies to Alfred immediately.

Dick smirked, and Bruce nearly groaned.

"You mean my mansion."


End file.
